Fields of Hircine
by Stelm
Summary: The story of a wood elf who happens to be pushed to the edge. His blatant disrespect for the gods is what keeps him alive from day to day.
1. May Y'ffre be with you

3

Fields of Hircine

_Marcus McDonald_

Chapter I

"Damn effective if you ask me." I said as I continued to ignite a pile of a merchant's finest timber with a spell I had learned from a traveling merchant.

Most people thought of magic as weak and his tribe would have ran to the hills if they saw me doing this. The only spells we were allowed were the ones that improved health and growth. Any destruction or illusion spells were forbidden. It didn't matter though, I was far from home.

The thought of home made me think of how the orcs had overran my home. Made me think how the king of the gods had forsaken us. We had prayed day and night before the raid for good hands in battle and a glorious victory. The god had turned his back on us but Y'ffre had stayed true to us through our separate journeys through the wilderness.

For that my picnic in the deep forest of Skyrim was true to the Green Pact. He had a deerskin blanket, a bone smoking tool, cooked rabbit, a jug of rain water, and his nordic flute. I had also brought a book of songs with left over money I had gotten from a local trader who needed the hides I had poached recently.

Covering most of his deerskin picnic blanket however was my bow and a few materials to make arrows. It had been in his family's tradition to make exotic types of arrows. All for the tribe to use as they wished. My bow however was unique in its own nature. It was made of treated and shaped mammoth bone; it had hide strings and was worth more than I was, at least to the nords.

It wasn't that I didn't like the nords that occupied Skyrim but they didn't like me. A long long time ago before I had crossed the southern border I was a member of a terrorist group that attacked Nordic strongholds. We called ourselves the Forsworn.

That was a past life however and I had severed ties with them. They had taken to the western side of Skyrim and I had preferred the wilderness that was close to Helgen and Riverwood. The great planes separated them and I decided I was going to keep it like that.

Figuring I had stalled the ritual long enough I grabbed the bone smoking tool and used fire magic to ignite the caterpillar insect inside. I wrapped my lips around the bone and inhaled and blew the smoke out into the air. Smoking before dinner was a tradition for the men of my tribe. A few minutes later I was done and got on to the rest.

I grabbed the cooked rabbit and was done with it in seconds. I grabbed my jug of water and drained it till there was no more. I could survive days without water or food; this much would fill him till sundas. By then he would have already been back to his small hut by a river.

From my tunic pocket I withdrew a bone carving of Y'ffre God the Forest, the spirit of now. I put it close the fire and bowed before it. I could feel the grass around me get a little higher and the darkness around me retreating.

That was when I heard it. A loud guttural roar, weaker ears would have dismissed it as just another wolf. But I knew better. I equipped my bow and grabbed all the materials I could and put them in my sack. I used the deerskin to blow the fire out and ran to where I heard the sound.

There it was again, but this time it was closer. He ran blindly to where he heard the second roar. His arrow was notched and he was ready for anything. He heard the footsteps no not towards him but around him. Not a pack of wolves but the footsteps of a lone beast fast and terrifying.

Hours of wandering in the darkness and he stopped hearing the sounds. Content that he couldn't find anything now he returned home. The trip there would take a normal nord a quarter of a day. It only took me two hours.

When I got there the first lights of day were beginning to show. It didn't matter I was sleeping in.


	2. One Big Kitty

Chapter II

I had returned to that same area for a month before finally deciding I was going there only one more night. I had set up camp and prayed to Y'ffre. Everything was set. I had my bow ready and everything.

However I didn't get the roar I was expecting. At first it was just the sounds of earth creatures walking in the night then it was silence. The type of silence that only happens in the seconds before the storm or saga.

My ears were up and I almost expect a giant to come out with his giant cub to fall down upon me, ending my life. However the silence endured for several hours. All I could do was wait I told myself. My good sense was talking too. Why was I trying to find a creature that as obviously meant to be hunting me?

The first footsteps I heard were too close…The beast was closing in I turned around and saw nothing. I looked back at the embers of my fire. It let go the glow I needed to see the blur of darkness charging towards me. I set the nocked an arrow that had certain powder that would explode when burned. Made it yesterday just for this.

I used magic to start the burning process. I did my best to stay confident but it was a losing battle. However I the moment I made the biggest blunder of my life. Once I had let go of the arrow it only went a few meters before exploding where the coals were. The weight was all wrong!

The explosion lit the area in between me and the blur of darkness. I took this time to run as fast as I could darting through trees and rocks. I could hear branches snapping and the beast getting close. I took that time to turn around. A fatal error as I only saw a glimpse of the forest fire I had started. Tears formed as I fell to the wet ground. I would die disrespecting the only god that had kept him.

He felt the beat coming close. As the monster came into view he could see he was going to meet his end via werewolf. The beast of hircine was going to cut me down where I lay. I took the time to pray to Y'ffre one last time. The prayer failed I thought in my mind as the werewolf came upon me tearing at my flesh his teeth ripping my skin. My mind numbed with the excruciating pain as I saw my own blood desecrate the forest I had lived for. My body didn't matter anymore though. My blood loss was only necessary for my foolishness. The world around me escaped and I saw a flash of white followed by endless darkness.


	3. Hangover

Chapter III

I spent the rest of the year trying to understand what had happened to me. I came to the realization that very few knew anything about curing what I found out was called Lycanthropy. Those who did were probably out of Skyrim and in secluded areas. I also found out how to bring about the beast. It was easy as breathing from your diaphragm.

Since the "incident" I had only transformed four times. The first time was for practice. The second time was to run away from a group of redgaurds who had seen my teeth sharpen, an occurrence that happened spontaneously when I was around people. The third time was because Lord Hircine forced me into killing a few werewolf slayers. The fourth was because I was starving to death. It's not like I hadn't tasted human flesh before.

I had also found out what had happen at the village that I had learned was called Kiyaslane. It was a Breton village that had been there since the nords took over Skyrim. From first hand reports he had learned that a while in beast form I had ravaged the village waving off the local militia like flies while slaughtering everyone in the village.

I couldn't hold the deaths of everyone in that village on me. It was the beast in me. Even though extremely effective it was dangerous when let off the leash. Knowing this I had forced myself into exile in the mountains south of Winterhold.

The cold was nothing with the new fur I had. I hunted mainly bears and wolfs. Bugs and trees needed to fill my pipe were hard to find due to climate but other than that all was good. I could train my new powers and explore the arts of hunting in the snow something I hadn't had the displeasure of learning.

That was exactly was I was planning on doing right now however I decided to transform once more to practice in the clearing he had set out for his monster to run free of anybody to see me. I let out a low guttural growl and soon my skin started to itch. My teeth elongated and saliva dripped all over my naked torso and the special underwear I knitted just for the occasion. As I transformed I focused hard he let my bones stretch and my muscle bolster. My skin hardened and began to cover itself with a black fur. The last thing I felt was my eyes, they hurt the most. They watered and reddened and if I closed them for a second I feared I would lose control.

When the transformation finished however I felt great. I jumped up and down and ran a mile up one side of the mountain. I couldn't control myself the roar just came out. I felt on top of the world. My fingertips dug in the snow so easily and I moved so fast. Why was I just in this one space? Why not explore. Damn I was hungry.

I ran down the hill rolling sometimes just to impress myself. I huffed and puffed and jumped from rock to rock. Once I reached level ground I sniffed the air around me there was a village nearby. High Elves. They were the target of racial animosity constantly since their fall from power. I felt like a little mischief sop I ran through the village the elves were scared out of their heads. I tipped over barrels and pots. Women screamed at me and men tried to sing at me with my swords I just swatted them away.

I was hungry but forced my claws from flesh. I would go hunting, now. I exited the village arrows whistling past me. I soon stopped hearing the shouts of chasing men and a blizzard fell upon me. The snow covered my skin and I felt like a creature of tundra I had rarely known. As I traveled through the storm I killed two bears and one troll. I fed on them but it only made me hungrier. My saliva had now been too much to hold in my mouth and was on my chest and on my arms.

My eyes popped when I saw a fire. I charged to it only to see a large figure standing by. As I got closer I saw it was a giant. From what my eyes could make out it had a long beard and a large sword. I roared as loud as I could when I approached it and jumped as high as I could use my uphill advantage. The monster used the giant rock he rested on to help me up as he raised his sword high in the air. By that time I had my claws scraping his stomach. It didn't stop the sword which swung down on me causing me to squeal and walk back. I was bleeding badly but I didn't feel it.

I decided to use my best advantage and jumped onto the giant and started gnawing on his head. The giant yelled and screamed. He banged his sword on my side and I yelled. It was only muffle from the blood coming from the giant's neck. The monster pushed me into the fire I didn't nothing but get up my fur curling up my skin tensing up. I ran forward and jabbed my claws at the giant's bleeding neck. His head rolled off and I feasted like I never did before.


End file.
